For the Night is Ours to be Us
by HoodedSpellcaster
Summary: Ted and Andromeda sneak out of the castle at night, because that's when there's no one telling them they shouldn't be together. / Marauder Era, Ted/Andromeda
1. For the Night is Ours to be Us

QLFC Round 7 — Pairing Palooza

CHASER 3: Write about one of the eight nautical Harry Potter ship names chosen by the team's Seeker. I chose H.M.S. Blood Traitor, also known as Ted/Andromeda.

OPTIONAL PROMPTS: 9. (dialogue) "You're crazy!"/ / "Were you ever under the impression that I was normal?" / 12. (word) mist / 15. (word) scarf

A/N: Ted and Andromeda, as minor as they are, have been one of my favourite canon ships since I read the books for the first time. I had lots of help from my sister during this round (she was a wonderful plot bunny) and I don't think I would've made it without her. Special thanks to Jordi and Sam for proofreading.

* * *

Hasty footsteps echoed in the corridors of Hogwarts when two students sneaked out of the castle in the middle of the night...

* * *

"Lumos," Ted whispered. In the light of the wand he was able to see Andromeda more clearly. Her features were tense, but her eyes twinkled with a hint of a smile.

"What if we get caught?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.

Ted pulled her into an embrace, smiling into Andromeda's hair. "If we get caught, then we're in trouble," he chuckled playfully. "Exciting, isn't it?" he asked.

"Come on, Ted," Andromeda whined, pulling away, but let Ted keep holding her hand. "Be serious for once."

She pouted a little—a truly adorable sight, Ted thought. The water's surface reflected the light of his wand, but otherwise the Black Lake was living up to its name. It seemed even darker when there were no stars lighting up the night sky. The pale veil of mist shrouded the lake and not even the Giant Squid bothered the night's peace. Ted didn't let go of Andromeda when he sat down.

Andromeda followed his example, sitting down next to the water's edge. She looked up at the sky. "It's so dreary out here," she whispered.

Ted watched Andromeda with admiration. Her full lips were slightly open and her warm brown eyes observed the world around underneath thick eyelashes, dark brown hair falling down her back in soft curls. Ted brushed a tress of her hair away from Andromeda's face; she leaned to his touch, a little unsure at first, but seemed to relax after a while.

"Yeah," Ted swallowed, his heart fluttering. Andromeda looked at him with a sweet, innocent smile playing on her lips. Ted grinned widely, revealing a line of white teeth, straightened with Muggle methods. Andromeda, shy at heart, very rarely made the first move herself, so Ted, knowing that very well, always approached her first. Andromeda knew she would lose her entire family if they ever found out about her and Ted Tonks. Ted didn't need to worry about such things.

"Ted, isn't the light a little risky?" Andromeda asked quietly, glancing at the castle.

"I just wanted to see your face," Ted said honestly, dipping the tip of the wand in the water in a whim. The lakeside became darker once more, the wand's light being barely visible underneath the rippling surface.

Ted didn't see how Andromeda's cheeks turned pink. "What on earth are you doing, Ted?" she asked with laughter in her voice as she watched the wand in amusement.

"I have no idea," Ted said, moving the wand in the water and making the water glow with bright light.

"You're crazy," Andromeda whispered fondly, her smile radiating happiness.

Ted chuckled. "Were you ever under the impression that I was normal?"

"No, I wasn't," Andromeda said with a smile. Ted's craziness was one of the things Andromeda loved the most about him. "It's so beautiful," she said, looking at the twirls of light in the water.

Ted kept his eyes on the wand for a moment longer than necessary before he turned to Andromeda. He was about to say something but his train of thought was cut short when Andromeda pressed her soft lips against Ted's own, chapped ones. Ted responded to the sweet kiss, whatever he was about to say long forgotten. He let go of his wand and it slowly started to sink towards the bottom of the lake. Ted raised his wand hand to Andromeda's cheek; Andromeda's hands instead were both on Ted's hair, running her thin fingers through the short locks of the boy. When the kiss finally ended, neither of them wanted to part. Their foreheads almost touched, breaths mingling together.

"Andricy?" Ted said, using the nickname he had given to Andromeda.

"What is it?" Andromeda asked.

"Do you have your wand with you?"

Andromeda pushed her into her pocket of her robe. "I don't think I do? Why?"

"Well, it looks like mine just fell into the lake," Ted said calmly.

Andromeda's eyes widened in horror and she began searching the insides of her pocket again, even though she had already claimed it empty. "Oh no," she squeaked in panic. "Oh no, oh no, oh no," she repeated.

"It's all right," Ted said, rubbing Andromeda's shoulder reassuringly. "I have time to fetch it before the first class tomorrow. I'll just borrow Lebron's and—" Andromeda interrupted him with a relieved sigh.

"No need to, I had just put it in a different pocket than usual," Andromeda said, pulling the maple wand out of her pocket. "Accio wand!" she said firmly, pointing her wand towards the lake. In a moment, Ted's wand flew from the bottom of the lake. Ted caught it easily—the light had turned off a long ago—and put it in his pocket.

"Thank you," he said to Andromeda, straightening her green and silver Slytherin scarf. "What would I ever do without you?" Andromeda said nothing to that. "Should we go back?" Ted asked, taking Andromeda's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"I guess so," Andromeda whispered wistfully.

* * *

"He's looking at you again," Bellatrix hissed in the morning, stabbing her sunny side up eggs with a fork. "The Mudblood," she continued when Andromeda ignored her. "I don't like the way he's looking at you."

"Just pay him no attention, Bella," Andromeda said nonchalantly, trying to keep her eyes on her plate but not succeeding at it. She glanced at Ted who was sitting a table away. He was indeed looking at where the Black sisters were sitting.

"I don't like him looking at you like that," Bellatrix repeated with more determination.

"Well, maybe you should stop staring at him or else people will start thinking you like him," Andromeda said, raising a brow and sneering at her sister. Bellatrix tsked, returning to her eggs and bacon and muttering something about filthy Mudbloods.

Andromeda smiled at Ted, the other returning her smile. Maybe someday they could be together in public without people like her family looking down at them, but until then they would have all the nights at the Black Lake to themselves.


	2. For the Night is a Promise

Round 9 — A Very Potter Disneyland

Name: For the Night is a Promise

Chaser 3: Lady and the Tramp

Pairing: Andromeda/Ted

Prompts:

4\. (object) tea leaves

7\. (word) clandestine

8\. (word) gamble

Songs used: 'Marry You' by Bruno Mars', and 'Bella Notte' from Disney's Lady and the Tramp

A/N: This was inspired by the 'Bella Notte' scene from the Lady and the Tramp, with music and nighttime and general enjoying each other's company. Gosh, I hadn't seen LatT in ages. Thanks to Jordi and Sam for proofreading.

* * *

 _Cause it's a beautiful night_

 _We're looking for something dumb to do_

 _Hey baby_

 _I think I wanna marry you_

* * *

It's a warm, calm October night. Andromeda stands outside the Hogwarts gates, waiting. She can even see her namesake, the galaxy of Andromeda, when she looks up at the Northern sky. She quickly glances at the watch on her wrist—the six month anniversary gift from Ted Tonks—and sighs deeply. The man in question is nowhere in sight. They were supposed to meet there almost fifteen minutes ago.

"Miss Black! Out of bed at this ungodly hour?! Detention, I say!"

Andromeda almost jumps out of her skin when she hears the caretaker's voice behind her back. She turns around with an excuse already forming on her lips when she sees Ted, who tries his best to hold back his laughter, with the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. The wide grin comes anyway and Andromeda can't remember the last time she wanted to hex anyone so badly. If nothing else, Ted knows how to imitate their old and cranky caretaker believably.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Andromeda complains, eyebrows furrowing.

Ted laughs. "That I did! You should've seen your face," he says cheekily, making Andromeda pout at him. "Come on, Andricy, don't look like that."

"Edward Tonks," Andromeda says firmly, her eyes slanting as she speaks, "we're sneaking out of the castle to go to Hogsmeade without permission to attend an unauthorized party in the middle of the night, so excuse me of being a little freaked out at hearing Pringle's voice out of nowhere."

"I'm sure the Headmaster knows about the party," Ted says defensively. "He just chooses to ignore it as long as nobody dies or gets seriously injured."

Andromeda glares at him, dark pink lips forming a thin, disapproving line.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Ted says earnestly, giving in to Andromeda's silent treatment. "Andricy," Ted mumbles, burying his face in Andromeda's hair, as he pulls the girl into tight embrace. "I'm sorry, let's go to the party, okay? You'll like it."

Andromeda rolls her eyes, wrapping her arms around Ted. "Fine. But no more imitating, okay?"

"What if I imitate your sister?" Ted whispers before booming loudly, "You filthy Mudloods! I'll hex every single one of you and kick some puppies in my spare time!"

Andromeda pushes Ted away when he starts cackling in a way Andromeda knows all too well. She playfully punches Ted's shoulder. Ted just grins at her, admiring the sight in front of him—Andromeda looks her best when she smiles. Ted is sure she has stars in her eyes.

Their meetings had become less clandestine recently, with Andromeda's older sister having graduated two years prior and her younger sister not minding, or caring, enough to address the situation in anyway. Life is a gamble, Ted thinks every time he approaches Andromeda outside of the classes they share. He's never seen himself as a risk taking guy, but for Andromeda, he's willing to face the whole Slytherin House and all the prejudices. Even if he gets his arse handed back to him by Griswald Vanity, who has very clearly expressed being interested in Andromeda as well. Too bad Andromeda has never shown any interest in brutes with bludger bats.

The music is blaring from the open windows of the pub, Hog's Head, which had been rented for the night by a group of Gryffindors. Andromeda, though not used to such an unsophisticated way of partying, looks around in awe. Someone had dug up some old fairy lights and given them a makeover, making them change colours from neon pink to bright yellow and cyan blue. Andromeda doesn't recognize half of the students without their school robes and house ties, but she knows she's one of the few invited Slytherins. She is sure she saw a glimpse of Sirius with some girl but he disappeared from her line of sight as quickly as he had appeared.

Ted grins at Andromeda. "Let's do something dumb," he suggests, wiggling his eyebrows. He abandons her for a moment and comes back with two shot glasses with sparkly golden liquid.

"What's that?" Andromeda sniffs the liquid. "Firewhisky?"

Ted nods. "In a way. Bottoms up!"

One shot turns into two, two into three and an hour on the dance floor, and after their seventh shots of whatever the bloke in charge calls Kneazle Nips, Ted is sure Andromeda shouldn't be able to stand straight, let alone climb to the tabletop to sing along with something he doesn't even recognize. Ted curses whoever had picked that song when he helps Andromeda down before anyone can coax her into taking of her shirt. Ted supports her weight as she jumps down, giggling like a child. Ted smiles fondly at her. Someone offers him a bottle, which he takes gratefully, and is ready to take a sip when Andromeda jerks his sleeve.

"Are those... tea leaves?" Andromeda asks curiously, pointing at the three students who Ted recognizes as his classmates. The water pipe doesn't go unnoticed by him, and while he knows what they are doing, he doesn't feel like explaining it to Andromeda. Some muggle things are better left unexplained for now.

"Aaaand we're leaving," he says swiftly, grabbing Andromeda's hand and guiding her out of the building. Ted sits down on the nearest bench with Andromeda ungracefully slumping next to him. She snatches the bottle from Ted and chugs almost a third of it before Ted takes it from her.

"I think that's enough," he says and Andromeda just shrugs, pouting. She falls quiet, staring at the sky. She is almost too quiet and after few minutes Ted grows worried.

"Andricy? You okay?" he asks. "Do you feel sick or anything?"

Andromeda shakes her head, turning her head at Ted. "We should elope," Andromeda says bluntly. "After we graduate."

Ted's face pales in a matter of seconds. "Are you drunk?" he has to ask, even though he knows she is.

He knows Andromeda's family would never approve of him—and he can live with that—but not even Andromeda in her right mind would ever say such a thing. He's a Muggle-born, not worthy of even staying in the same room and breathing the same air as Andromeda, if one asked Bellatrix at least. But running away with Andromeda, living with her and sharing his life with her, that's what he has been dreaming of for as long as Andromeda has been granting Ted her time. But she shouldn't have to put her family aside for him, Ted thinks. Andromeda's cheeks are flushed and her hair is messy.

She's still looking at Ted, staring at him. "I'm most definitely drunk," she says with some slurring in her words. "But I'm also definitely serious."

"Andromeda, I—" Ted starts but Andromeda cuts in.

"It's okay if you don't want to—"

"I'd be honored to marry you, Andromeda Black," Ted finishes firmly, grabbing Andromeda's hands and holding them inside his own. "Any time, anywhere. Right now even, if that pleases you. It's a beautiful night for a wedding."

Andromeda laughs. "I'd be fine with that."

"Wait a moment, then."

Ted, with some magic and a wave of his wand, carves the first letters of their names inside a heart on the bench. TT for Ted Tonks and AT for...

"How's that, Mrs. Tonks?" Ted asks, making Andromeda smile even wider. "Enough to make it official?"

"Not even a diamond ring would be better," she replies.

And Ted beams at her. While not actually official, it's a promise of a start. What a beautiful, wonderful end it is for an equally beautiful night.

* * *

 _Side by side with your loved one,_

 _You'll find enchantment here._

 _The night will weave its magic spell,_

 _When the one you love is near!_

 _Oh this is the night, and the heavens are right!_

 _On this lovely bella notte!_


End file.
